Tired of Reading Interesting Blog Posts? Here's One on How to Use the Subjunctive
A lot of people ask me about how to use the subjunctive -- the reason we say 'I wish I were' instead of 'I wish I was.' It's hard to find comprehensive help. A lot of sources tell you when to use it, but very few tell exactly how -- especially in the present tense. So a year or so ago I cobbled together the best information from my best sources and posted it as a page at my website. On request, I'm copying and pasting here.
* * * Copied from www.GrammarSnobs.com/subjunctive * * *
Subjunctive
Situations in which the "subjunctive mood" applies (from "Garner's Modern American Usage"):
- 1. conditions contrary to fact: "if I were king." (where the indicative would be "am.")
- 2. suppositions: "if I were to go, I'd be late." (where the indicative would be "was.")
- 3. wishes: "I wish that I were able to play the piano." (where the indicative would be "was.")
- 4. demands and commands: "I insisted that he go." (where the indicative would be "goes."
- 5. suggestions and proposals: "I suggest that she think about it." (where the indicative would be "thinks.")
- 6. statements of necessity: "it's necessary that they be there." (where the indicative would be "are.")
Subjunctive applies to:
Past tense: Applies only to the verb "to be." Is only noticeable where "was" gets changed to "were." See examples 1, 2 and 3 above.
Indicative (standard form) Subjunctive
I was I were
you were you were
he/she was he/she were
we were we were
they were they were
Present tense: Applies to all verbs. Form by replacing indicative form with "base form" (i.e. infinitive with no "to").
Indicative (standard form) Subjunctive
I am I be
you are you be
he/she is he/she be
we are we be
they are they be
For example, "It's imperative that he be there." Normally, we'd say, "He is there." But because this is a "statement of necessity," the subjunctive kicks in.
Keywords:
About June
June Casagrande was born in March and lives in a small house. She wrote a grammar/humor book called "Mortal Syntax" and, before that, one called "Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies." She sincerely hopes you buy a million copies of each.
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Encore!
Wow! What a needed review! I'd long forgotten the rules of bullet 5 & 6, though my ear gives the the correct grammar instinctively, I'd forgotten the rules of why.
And shamefully, I'd forgotten all the subjuctive present tense use of "be." My ear gives me the "be" correctly at times, but I just thought I was being highfallutin.
I recall reading a dissertation by Rita Mae Brown about her lament re: the English lose of the extensive use of the subjunctive, and at how much more the Latin and other languages could convey using their broader subjuctive. Well, by gar, I'd even lost the English present subjuctive.
More lessons! Encore! Encore!
Thank you!
I'm glad that was helpful.
As I said, I had a tough time getting this. Most guides, including Garner's, say "Here's when to use subjunctive." But they never give the specific instructions for conjugating it.
The only book I found that explains the how (In the present tense, just conjugate using the base form) is the Oxford English Grammar. An excrutiatingly dry book -- a bona fide "grammar" -- that lists it in the most cursory and observational way.
Luckily, there aren't many numbers with which to do an encore. Subj is probably the biggest doozy/mystery. There's little stuff like "lay/lie" and identifying objects in a way that makes sure you get "between you and me" right. But, such tidbits aside, the hardest, most arcane stuff ends with that subjunctive lesson.
Yes, subjunctive is waning in a lot of uses. But we still say, "It's crucial that you be there on time" (even if we do also use the alternative "are"). So it's still good to understand the mechanics behind it.
Thanks again!
Thanks, June...
...for enlarging with clarity on this. On the whole, I think I have a reasonable ear and err on the 'safe' side, especially when it's in the conditional. It's odd how misapplication does tend to sound uneducated. Odd, too, that colloquial speech of the past seems to favour the 'base form', something of particular interest to historical novelists.